


Goodbye

by WriterOfThought



Series: Bowieverse [5]
Category: David Bowie (Musician)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 08:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5701960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterOfThought/pseuds/WriterOfThought
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a tribute fiction to David Bowie, a great musician and inspiration to so many people. In my mind, this is how he would give a final goodbye to us, and his characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

The house was silent. There were no words to say, anyway. They had all heard the news. It was just impossible to believe.  
“What’s going to happen to us?” Pierot finally said. Everyone was thinking it. No one else had said it, though. It was the first thing anyone had said all day.  
Nobody answered.  
They had gotten the news that morning, and it was well past dinnertime. Tears had been shed, long since dried. Words had been exchanged with a simple quiver of a lip. Years worth of condolences had been spoken using only hugs. Nobody had spoken until Pierot asked the question.  
After minutes that felt like hours, the next to break the silence was the oldest.  
“I don’t know,” Tom said.  
The question bored at their minds alongside the grief in their hearts. What happens to the characters when the actor dies? After all, it wasn’t like a play or a movie where they can just be re-made and re-imagined. They were all a part of him, and he was a part of them. Nothing could change that.  
There was a knock at the door. Each man jumped simultaneously, shocked at an outside noise breaking the silence that permeated the entire Earth. Nathan, who was closest to the door, went to open it. The others turned their heads, watching in anticipation.  
He opened the door, and on the other side stood a frail, old man. His eyes were covered with a bandage, with buttons where the sockets lay. He wore a hospital gown and looked as if he would fall over at any moment. Nathan invited him in from the freezing cold. The others just looked confused.  
Feeling sympathetic for the man, Duke stood up and walked towards him.  
“Here,” he said. “You can take my seat.”  
The man stretched out his arm, silently asking for guidance. Duke took his hand and led him towards the chair. He nearly tripped once and Ziggy shot up to catch him, but he didn’t fall. He kept going until he reached the chair.  
“You probably recognize me,” the old man said. “I have no doubt that you saw the video.”  
Nobody said anything.  
“Someone called me ‘Buttoneyes’ at one point,” he said. “But I think ‘Lazarus’ is a much more fitting name.”  
Still no words. One or two of them gave a nod, but nobody spoke. The silence was sickening, thick as mud and warm like a fever. It was the kind of silence that slows down time. It felt like days had passed but it was still only minutes.  
“What is it like, I wonder,” Lazarus said. “To be the oldest and also the youngest. Personally, I have no idea.”  
“Please keep your thoughts to yourself,” Jareth said harshly. “We’ve all had a rough day and would appreciate some silence.”  
“Speak for yourself,” Jack retorted. “I think this silence is driving me crazy. I’m glad to hear something for once.”  
“Leave it be,” Aladdin suggested, teeth tightly clenched. “We each need to take time and get through this our own way.”  
“Time is the OPPOSITE of what we have,” Celliers yelled with his military voice. “Any minute now we could fade into nothingness! Forgotten, forever! Do you want that?”  
“Nobody knows what will happen!” Newton said, trying to calm everyone down. It only succeeded in making everyone get louder.  
There was a knock at the door.  
Everybody froze.  
Nathan, who was still standing, took a deep breath and headed towards the door. He turned the knob slowly, thinking about every movement of his hand, every breath he took, every heartbeat. Were they really numbered?  
He opened the door and saw another old man, not as frail as Lazarus. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he was healthy. He had on a thick winter coat and a nice fancy hat. Everyone recognized him immediately, but nobody moved.  
“I knew it wasn’t true,” Nathan said, tears in his eyes as he fell into a hug with David, burying his face into the rock star’s shoulder.  
David placed his arm around Nathan, consoling him. He knew they had all had a rough day.  
“It was true,” he said.  
Nathan stopped crying. He backed up off of David. Had he really just cried on the shoulder of a dead man? A corpse, no, a ghost?  
“But how?” Nathan asked. “How are you here?”  
“The Powers That Be allowed me a few final wishes,” David explained as he entered the house for what they all realized was the last time. “You didn’t think I would leave without saying goodbye, did you?”  
Solemnly, each member of the house gave David a hug, a kind word, and a smile, including the new addition. After several minutes, David looked at his watch. Everyone knew what it meant.  
“I have to go,” he said as he started for the door.  
“No!” Ziggy yelled. He threw himself to David’s feet, grabbing onto the cuffs of his pants. “I won’t let you leave us again!”  
Calmly, David spoke to the group.  
“Even I couldn’t live forever,” he said. “And quite frankly, it’s amazing I lived as long as I did, considering everything that’s happened.” Ziggy still wouldn’t let go of his pants.  
“I have to fade,” he said. “You guys, you are all what is so timeless about me. As long as I am remembered, so will you be. None of you will ever fade.” Reluctantly, Ziggy loosened his grip.  
David turned around and looked at everyone for one last time. He smiled, gave a wave, and one last word.  
“Thanks, guys,” he said. “It was fun.”  
He walked out the door, and the entire household walked out into the snow covered world to see him leave. As David reached the end of the driveway, his dark, winter clothes all faded to white, and he began to glow, until finally he vanished, leaving behind his legacy, his art, his music, his fans, and a temporary sadness that will fade with time.


End file.
